


stumbling into your eyes

by simpleillusion



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, metamorphomagus!Magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:10:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7779028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleillusion/pseuds/simpleillusion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec has a crush on methamorphomagus Magnus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stumbling into your eyes

It was only second week of the semester and Alec was already convinced he was going to fail. Which made him more than anxious considering he was a Ravenclaw with the highest marks in his year for the past six years. Isabelle and Jace both liked to make fun of how much of a nerd he was even for a Ravenclaw, yet they still begged for his notes every year without fail when the finals came. There were going to be no notes from this year, though. There were going to be no notes and next year he will meet his younger siblings back in class, because he was going to fail.

' You're being so melodramatic' Isabelle said with an impatient huff from Alec's left. He just groaned in response, his forhead planted firmly on the table. She shouldn't really sit at his table, considering she was a Griffindor like Jace, but she never cared, and other people learned long time ago to just let it go and let her sit wherever she wanted. But she understood nothing of Alec's current situation.

'What is wrong with him?' He heard Jace, late as always, ask.

'He's going to fail, apparently.' Isabelle informed him still cheerily devouring her dinner. Jace snorted 'yeah, right'

'I hate you both' Alec informed them matter of factly finally lifting his head from the table.

'Sure you do' Isabelle agreed. 'I don't see what the problem is, though. So you share some classes with Slytherins now, so what? They are cool people.'

The problem was Magnus Bane. Alec was vaguely aware of his existance before, as he was rather well known around school since he was the only methamorphomagus in Hogwarts, but he never really dwelled on it as they didn't really share the same circles. Alec actually liked spending time in the library, while Magnus was known for his not exactly teacher approved parties. But now... Now they shared classes. Alec was not going to be able to focus ever again. Considering they were all wearing uniforms of black robes it was quite an achievement to pull attention to his clothes, but Magnus managed to do just that every time. Alec had no idea how he did that so early in the morning, but he always looked perfectly put together with make-up that only Isabelle could match and clothes that he always managed to add personal touch to somehow. And on top of that there were his eyes. He liked to sprout bright yellow cat eyes that most people found unnerving, they looked too unnatural, but Alec thought they looked beautiful. They seemed to suit Magnus perfectly. And Alec had no idea what what even going on in half of his classes not to mention taking notes. He actually set something on fire yesterday in charms.

'They are distracting.' He said eventually to Isabelle.

She rised an eyebrow at him and smirked knowingly 'How are they more distracting then other people?'

'What? They aren't... It's just... ' Alec stuttered while she just smiled wider.

'Yes, brother?' She asked innocently 'Or maybe it's just one person that is distracting? One very glittery person? '

Alec groaned letting his forhead fall on the table again. 'How do you even know this?' He asked petulantly. He learned long time ago not to try lying to her.

'Oh, Alec, I know you'

'What are you two even talking about?' Jace asked clearly confused 'What glittery person?'

'Our brother here has a crush' Isabelle explained with a laugh 'On Magnus Bane'

'Bane?' Jace asked confused 'Is that that dude with the weird eyes?'

'His eyes aren't weird' Alec protested to Isabelle's amusement

'Yeah, they are.' She teased 'He's a methamorphomagus' She explained to Jace.

'He seems so... loud, though' Jace said 'Like no offence dude, but I always thought you would find yourself some library hermit like yourself'

'I'm not a hermit' Alec protested.

'Of course you're not' Isabelle said indulgently making him scowl at her. He really hated his sibling sometimes.

'Besides it doesn't mean anything, He probably doesn't even know my name.'

'Oh, Alec, I'm sure that's not true.' She said more seriously

'Sure' He answered bitterly finally standing up from the table, since he hasn't been eating anything anyway. 'I have homework left, I'll see you later'

Alec loved his siblings more than anything, but they could be really overwhelming sometimes. He never really expressed an interest in anyone before, so he knew Isabelle was just excited that it finally happened, but he didn't feel that up for discussing it with her. Isabelle and Jace were both outgoing and confident, used to getting whoever and whatever they wanted. Alec wasn't. Alec was the shy older brother that spoiled the fun and reminded people of their responsibilites. His idea of fun was a good book read in a warm sun by the lake or by the fire in a cozy common room. People generally overlooked him, only vaguely recognising him as Isabelle's or Jace's brother. There was no way someone like Magnus would ever look at him.

 

 

A week later Alec was as usual spending his saturday in a library trying to make up for the time he again payed no attention in class and write an esey that actually made sense. The fact he hated potions wasn't helping. He only took them because he hoped to become an auror but with every passing minute he was more and more seriously considering a career change.

'Alexander, hello' He was jerked from his thoughts by the voice he least expected to hear and jumped a bit in surprise before settling his eyes on the intruder. He noted with a vague feeling of disappointment that that the usual gold of Magnuses eyes was nowhere to be seen, they were now a deep brown color and decidedly human. The gold stayed only in the form of golden glitter adorning his eyelid.

'Um.. Hello' He stammered after definitely too many seconds, which made him blush. He hoped Magnus wouldn't notice that. Or the staring. Judging by Magnus' amused expression he did notice.

'Are you working on the essay for potions?' Magnus asked.

'Yeah'

'Can I join? Potions aren't my strong suit I could use some help.' Magnus asked with a cheery smile. Alec was confused. Magnus was the best in potions in the entire school. It didn't make any sense.

'Uh.. sure' He answered elocuently.

'Great' Magnus sat on the other side of the small table, which ment they knees were almost touching. Alec wasn't entirely sure if he was happy about that or not. To his surprise they did actually work on their essays, sharing books and ideas. Alec didn't usually like studying with other people but with Magnus it felt different. It was nice. Magnus didn't try to distract Alec from his work by idle chatter and was quite helpful. When it was over though Alec was pretty certain it was Magnus who had helped Alec and not the other way around.

'Well, see you around Alexander. It was a pleasure.' Magnus honest to God purred as a goodbye throwing in a glittery wink, that made Alec turn beet red.

 

 

'So, I heard someone had a date' Isabelle greeted him at breakfast the next day.

'What?' He asked still half-asleep, he was not a morning person. 'I didn't have a date.'

'No?' She quirked an eyebrow smirking. 'Well, someone told me you spend quite some time in a library with Magnus yesterday.'

'It was not a date' Alec muttered 'We were just doing homework.'

'Sure you were.'

'Izzy...' He said irritated. 'We really didn't even talk about anything other than potions.'

'Fine.' She gave up with a sigh. 'But you can't say he doesn't even know your name anymore, can you?'

He didn't really have an answer for that.

 

The following Tuesday at potions they were informed they would be working in pairs. Before Alec had even time to look around he saw Magnus already putting his stuff at his table and smiling at him.

'You don't mind Alexander, do you?' He asked.

'No, of course not' Alec answered quickly, once again noting with disapointment that Magnuses' eyes were brown today too.

He quickly discovered however that it was even harder to focus when Magnus was right beside him working on the same cauldron. He tried to pull himself together and focus on the actual task, he would hate to cause Magnus a bad grade just because he couldn't control his feelings. Magnus didn't seem to have similar problems chopping and stirring with a practiced ease that Alec probably should not find this hot. Izzy would laugh at him forever if she found out the ability to make potions is what makes Alec hot and bothered. After good few minutes of Magnus working and Alec fumbling incoherently Magnus turned away from the simmering cauldron to look at him with a smirk

'Not that I don't enjoy the view but are you actually going to do something here beside standing there and looking pretty?' He asked clearly more amused then actually irritated by the lack of help and Alec could feel his whole face turning red. Did Magnus really just say he was pretty?

'Umm... Yeah...of course' He stammered making Magnus' smirk grow even further.

He grabbed some random stuff to chop desperately hoping it was the right thing to do. Magnus didn't try to stop him so he figured it was. Magnus tried to pull him in an easy conversation during the class throwing in remarks here and there, but Alec mostly answered with noncommittal grunts and shrugs.

'Well Alexander seems like it's done.' Magnus said cheerfully as the class was nearing the end. And it did indeed look perfect. No potion Alec ever did has looked this perfect.

'Yeah, seems so.' He agreed. 'Sorry I wasn't much help'

'Nonsense, you are very good at chopping' Magnus teased with a smile 'Besides it always nicer to work with something pretty to look at' He added with a wink as he turned to bring the finished potion to the prefessor leaving Alec gaping behind him. That was the second time Magnus called him pretty within an hour. Was he flirting with him? That would be ridiculous wouldn't it?

 

After that day things got ever weirder in Alexander Lightwood's life. Well if you asked him. Isabelle would just say that he's an idiot. The point was Magnus suddenly seemed to be everywhere. He was there when Alec was studying in the library all cheery smiles and helpful tips, he was there when Alec was taking a stroll around the lake asking to join, he seemed to just pop up out of thin air. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the shameless flirting. Alec would give that to him that he usually refrained from unnecessary comments when Alec was focused on his task in the library, but all the other time it was as if he was an endless pit of pick-up line and glittery winks. When he tried complaining to Isabelle she just laughed at him and told him to stop being an idiot and flirt back, yet Alec seemed unable to do that. All he seemed to do in Magnus' presence was stammering and blushing excessively. Even if Magnus commented on how much he likes Alec's blush on more than one occasion.

Alec was determined to resolve it all today. The Hogsmead weekend was coming up, so he decided he was going to ask Magnus to go with him, and that would settle it. If Magnus was serious with his flirting then Alec would get a date with his crush out of it, and if he wasn't... well at least he would know where he actually stands.

As usual these days he met up with Magnus in the library. Well, met up was probably not the right expression for that, he came to the library and Magnus showed up ten minutes later with a grin and a book that Alec was serching for uslessly for the past ten minutes.

'Are you looking for this?' Magnus asked cheerily.

'Yeah... How did you find it?'

'Oh, I have my ways.' Magus made an offhand gesture, handing him the book in a way that made their fingers brush. Alec took a deep breath gathering his courage.

'I actually wanted to speak with you.' He said

'You did' Magnus cocked his eyebrow at him curiously 'and what would you like to speak about Alexander?'

'Well... You see...' Alec stammered uncertainly already feeling the blush that must have been creeping at his face.

'Yes, Alexander?' Magnus sounded amused. 'I have to say your blush is giving me ideas'

'What? no... I was just' Damn it, why was he never capable of functioning like a normal human being? 'Would you like to go to Hogsmead with me this weekend' He finally blurted out.

'Why Alexander are you asking me on a date?' Magnus asked with a big grin on his face .

'Well, yes. If you want'

'Of course I want.' Magnus said indignantly 'What do you think I've been doing all this time?'

'I don't know. I never know if you are serious.' Alec admitted avoiding Magnus' eyes.

'Oh, Alexander I'm always serious when I'm flirting with you.' Magnus stated sounding oddly sincere.

'Okay' Alec muttered not really knowing what to say to that. 'So... you will go with me?'

'Yes Alexander, I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you?' Magnus answered seriously.

'Okay, great' Alec said decisively grabbing the book tightly in his hand and walking out of the library before he realized that he never actually worked on the essay he was supposed to write today. He decided to work on it in the common room instead, as he was rather not looking forward to embarassing himself further by walking back in.

 

 

 

'Hello, Alexander' He heard cheerful voice from behind him and he turned around quickly and probably less gracefully than he would like.

'Um, hello' He answered after he steadied himself taking the sight of Magnus in. Magnus changed his robes for more casual clothing as well, though in his case more casual didn't really mean much, as he was currently dressed in very tight black pants and silky purple shirt with a deep cut on the front that made Alec really want to see even more of Magnus' chest. On top of that he had multiple neclaces and bracelets. When his eyes finally reached Magnus' face he realized he probably was staring for a bit too long judging by the smirk that Magnus was sprouting and the amused gleam in his brown eyes. He did notice however that Magnus' make up was even more elaborate than it was on a normal day and that he had purple streaks in his hair that clearly matched his shirt. Alec was once again surprised by how much though Magnus must have put into dressing himself everyday, but very much appreciated the effort. He was also really glad that he listened to Izzy's advice and wore a shirt she bought him some time ago and he has never worn before as it seemed to tight and constricting for his liking. He still must have look rumpled compared to Magnus but at least he didn't look homeless, like his siblings liked to claim he did whenever he was allowed to dress himself and not wear the school robes.

'Shall we go?' Magnus asked finally

'Yeah, sure' Alec agreed easly already feeling awkward. Magnus smiled at him brightly and it really shouldn't be doing what it was doing to Alec heart. It was just a smile, dammit.

They left the castle together falling into an easy rhythm. Alec easly accomodating his steps to the shorter man. The walk to Hogsmead wasn't a long one, it only took about 30 minutes to reach first buildings of the town, they spent that time on casual talk about random topics and a bit of flirting on Magnus' side. Alec was beginning to suspect flirting was Magnus' default mode. To Alec himself however it was completely foreign territory, as he never really flirted with anyone before, never knew anyone he would want to flirt with before. It was making him more nervous then he would like for the date that was ahead of him. If he's terrible at flirting, will Magnus get discouraged? Will he screw up his chance with his inability to flirt?

'Stop that.' He heard Magnus say 'Whatever it is darling, it's definitely not a reason to stress to much.'

'I'm not... It's not... it's nothing' He spluttered in response ignoring Magnus' amused eyebrow quirk. 'Where would you like to go first?' He asked determined to leave that topic behind. He really did not want to admit to Magnus what it was that he was thinking about.

'Butterbeer and then shopping?' Magnus asked.

'Yeah, sounds good.' Alec agreed easily. They quickly made they way to Three Broomsticks and found one of the few still free tables in the crowded inn. Alec bought the beers for both of them ignoring Magnus' protests. It was him asking Magnus on a date after all. Plus Magnus didn't look like he really minded all that much. Alec was a bit scared that his siblings would be here too, but thankfully Jace decided to take Clary to Madame Puddifoot's Tea shop, even though Izzy tried to tell him how bad of an idea that was. And Izzy herself was off somewhere doing god knows what like usual.

Now sitting across from Magnus with nothing to distract them Alec felt awkward, he has no idea what to say. What do people talk about on dates?

'So Alexander' Magnus saved him from his mini freak out. 'Tell me something about yourself'

'Umm...' Alec shifted uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck 'not much to tell really, you know most of this already.'

'Ach, but Alexander I most certainly do not.' Magnus smiled at him 'You give out so little.'

'Well, I'm not.. I'm not outgoing like Izzy or Jace.' He admitted

'You seem to think it's a bad thing' Magnus cocked his head to the side looking at him intently.

'No, it's just... most people think I'm boring'

'I certainly do not. And I would love to know more about you. What do you do for fun when you are not studying?'

'I exercise with Jace a lot, you know Jace is a muggle-born and even though he's a chaser now, he still likes muggle sports and he introduced me to boxing, so now we use room of requirement as our gym. Izzy often joins too. And I read a lot I guess, muggle history is fascinating so I like to read up on that, and my little brother Max loves comic books, so I read those too from time to time to have an idea of what he is talking about. He's not in Hogwarts yet, so he feels a bit left out, it helps to have a common topic with him. And my parents don't really take him to comic book shops, they think it's too much of a muggle thing.' He stopped talking suddenly feeling the blush come over his face, but when he looked at his date Magnus was looking at him with a warm smile, and a look in his eyes that Alec couldn't place. 'Sorry you probably don't want to listen about my siblings.'

'You love them a lot.' Magnus stated in response 'It's not a bad thing. It's sweet.'

'Sweet.' Alec deadpanned back. That's not really what you wanted a date to think of you.

'Yes. Now tell me more about the boxing thing. I certainly do like what it does to your arms' Magnus eyed Alec's biceps appreciatively and smirked at him while Alec's blushed deepened.

They continued talking about everything and nothing after that and after a while Alec relaxed and didn't feel so self-conscious anymore. It was just so easy to talk to Magnus. Magnus who didn't mind him talking about Max, but rather offered his own recommendations for comics to buy him for his upcomming birthday, who talked to Alec about make-up and didn't mind that Alec had little idea of what he was talking about and rather than just leaving the topic made it simple so Alec could understand. Magnus who didn't seem to think he was boring.

By the time Alec realised how late it has gotten they already spent three hours just talking over butterbeer in the ever so crowded inn. He would happily spend another three hours there but he knew Magnus wanted to do some shopping too, and he himself never missed the opportunity to stock up on chocolate in Honeydukes. His secret sweet-tooth wasn't really that much of a secret. Izzy liked to tease him about it, yet she always found her way to him to bug him into giving her some of his chocolate at least twice a month. He learned to just buy his supplies accordingly.

They left the Three Broomsticksand slowly made they way further through the town, visiting a couple shops along the way, mostly because Magnus saw something in the window that he liked. It was surprisingly nice for Alec, who usually disliked shopping when Izzy dragged him with her. With Magnus it was different. Everything felt different with Magnus. He didn't even know before that they was a shop selling muggle make-up in Hogsmeade before before Magnus dragged him there claiming he was running low on golden glitter. Alec didn't find that particulary surprising considering how much of this stuff Magnus was usully covered in. What he did find surprising was the actual amount of colors and shaded and _brushes_ that lied in that shop. He had no idea how anyone could pick anything in there. Magnus seemed to be in his element, though, and that was good enough for Alec. He liked seeing Magnus as excited as when he was browsing various glittery things that Alec had no idea how to name or use.

When Magnus was finally satisfied with his purchases they slowly made their way to Honeydukes. This was usually Alec's favourite part of Hogsmeade weekends, quite often he only came to the town at all to buy his share of sweets and returned to the castle with his bags full of them to last till the next visit. This time too he quickly listed his order to the shopkeeper, as he already had it well practiced what he liked and what he didn't.

'That's a lot of chocolate' He heard Magnus' amused voice when he was done placing his order and he quickly felt himself flush in embarassment.

'Izzy likes to steal it.' He answered hesitantly.

'Somehow I doubt it's her who eats all that.' Magnus answered with a smirk.

'She does eat some of it' Alec grumbled.

'Sure' Magnus agreed indulgently. 'You know you can just make a trip to the kitchen if you want sweets in the castle, though, right?'

'I know. But I don't want to trouble the elves. And Honeydukes is better and you know it.'

'You're adorable' Magnus said with a smile and Alec felt himself blush again. He was not adorable, damnit!

'I'm not' He grumbled childishly making Magnus laugh.

'Of course not. You're extremally manly.' He agreed with a grin.

'Exactly' Alec nodded decisively unable to stop his own answering grin.

When they left Honeydukes it was already pretty late and they spent more time together than Alec really hoped for before their date. It flew by as if it was minutes. But now it was time to get back to the castle before the time was up and they got in trouble. They made their way slowly, though, taking adventage of the last moments of their date.

'So, this was nice.' Magnus stated

'Yeah. It was.' Alec agreed easily.

'Does that mean you will go out with me again?' Magnus look uncharacteristically uncertain, and Alec really did not understand that. Did Magnus really not realise how much he like this? How much he liked him?

'Yeah, of course. I mean if you want that.'

'Alexander I already told you I do. You are the difficult one.'

'I'm not difficult. You are just hard to read.'

'Hard to read? Magnus quirked an eyebrow at him 'How? I flirted with you really obviously, I pretended to be bad at potions for you!'

'Oh, yeah, I though that was weird'

'You are hopeless Alexander, just hopeless.' Magnus shook his head at him, but he was smiling so Alec was okay with that. 'You are really lucky you're cute.'

This time instead of protesting Alec just blushed more and tentativly reached out to intervine his fingers with Magnus', and Magnus' smile when he noticed the action was so blinding that Alec had to look away so he wouldn't stumble and brain himself. He still couldn't keep his own bashful smile down.

The rest of their walk to the castle was silent both of them perfectly content to just bask in each other's presence and the feel of their intervined fingers. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was slowly setting but the air was warm and clear.

They reached the castle as one of the last students returning for the night, and Alec was sure Izzy was going to comment on it in one way or another, but that was a worry for tomorrow. Today he was too happy to think about his sister's teasing. He walked with Magnus all the way to the dungeons, which Magnus called very chivalrous but he was looking rather fond when he was saying it, so Alec figured he was fine with it.

'Can I ask you something?' Alec asked suddenly when they were saying goodbye. Magnus looked at him surprised and he felt embarassed, but it he's been thinking about for quite some time and now he finally found the courage to actually bring it up.

'Well, of course, Alexander.' Magnus agreed easly, even though, he still looked surprised and a little hesitant.

'Why do you not have your cat eyes anymore?' Alec asked.

'My cat eyes?' Magnus asked his hand automatically going to his eyes. 'Well, I figured those would look more natural.' He answered simply, but Alec could see he was holding back. He didn't want to push him into spilling something he did not want to tell, but at the same time, he felt a weird urge to reassure Magnus that he could always tell Alec anything.

'I always thought they suited you.' Alec shrugged. 'They do look a bit weird I suppose, but they are very... you.'

'Are you saying I'm weird?' Magnus asked teasingly smirking at Alec.

'What?.. No... I just meant..' Alec spluttered trying to dig himself out if this hole 'You always look different that anyone. It's not a bad thing.' He added the last bit quickly.

'Do you really like them?' Magnus asked hesitantly and Alec noted with surprised that he really looked quite shy.

'Yeah, I really do.' He stated simply. He was rewarded with a soft smile as Magnus closed his eyes only to open them a couple of seconds later to the golden-yellow color of his cat eyes. And Alec could not look away. Magnus always looked beautiful to him, but like this he somehow looked most like himself, like he had nothing to hide.

'I love them.' He said finally. He noted with surprise that Magnus looked a bit embarassed.

'I thought you wouldn't.' Magnus said quietly 'Most people don't. That's why I changed them recently.'

'Don't do that with me.' Alec answered. 'I don't want to feel like you have to pretend with me. I want to know you.'

Magnus smiled at him softly 'You truly are something else, Alexander.'

'Is that good?' He asked uncertainly

'Yes. Definitely.'

'Okay, good. I'll... I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?'

'yes, Of course. Potions first thing in the morning.' Magnus answered and laughed at the grown Alec let out as he was reminded of the class. 'Goodnight, Alexander'

'Goodnight' he answered softly but only turned to leave when Magnus disappeard inside the Slytherin common room.

When he got to his own common room, he went straigh to bed despite the fairly early hour. He didn't really feel like socialising, instead he drawn the curtains to curl up on his own bed and daydream of his crush like a teenage girl. He would be ashamed if there was anyone to see him, but he felt fairly certain Izzy would not find out about this. And that's how he fell asleep that night, with thoughts of Magnus in his head, his dreams full of cat eyes and glitter. For the first time since he could remember he actually felt excited for tomorrow and even the prospect of potions couldn't dampen his mood.

 

 

 

 


End file.
